Huish Church of St James the Less Basics
Listed building grade 2*
Regularly open
Address
Huish
Okehampton
EX20 3QE
Geographical coordinates
50°52’51.1″N 4°05’07.2″W (enter these in your smartphone navigator)
Devonchurchland says…
A gem, tucked away off the main Okehampton to Bideford road (‘main’ in Devon means more than 5 cars an hour) and barely visited . Definitely worth a special trip though.
It was designed by GE Street, one of the leading Victorian church architects, and as those fun Victorians considered church architecture one of their highest artistic accomplishments, then he was good, very, very good. Buried in Westminster Abbey now, which shows how well regarded he was.
The tower is Medieval, the only remnant of the previous church, and the outside is very simple; cute, charming, pretty all come to mind.
The inside though is a golden wonder, built out of honey-coloured Ham Stone.
But the wonder is not just in the stone, a grand choice as it is, but in the sight lines and the shapes and play of light. A master painter in stone and glass has been at play here.
Lots of little details leap out once we really look. The use the stone grain, the pillar design, the little touches to the window and door arches, all coming together to make a beautiful whole.
The font is well worth ten minutes of serious inspection too, carved with so many flowers as it is and with a very contrasting stem.
The altar back mosaic is another delightful detail, The Last Supper well executed.
Very good tiles and a cute porch interior, a golden chancel, all are worth appreciating, but really our joy alway comes back to that marvellous use of stone and light and colour, so simple and powerful in such a small church.
Outline
PLAN
- Nave
- Chancel
- South aisle
- Porch
- West tower
- Vestry on north side of chancel
AGE
- Late C15 or early C16 tower
- The rest rebuilt in 1873 by G. E. Street
BUILT FROM
- Coursed stone rubble walls.
- Gable-ended slate roof.
- Stone chimney to vestry
Exterior
WEST TOWER
- 3-stage, castellated
- With obelisk finials.
- Round-headed granite west doorway
- Roll and hollow moulding
- Arched hoodmould.
- C20 rebuilt 3-light Perpendicular style west window.
- 2-light segmental arched belfry openings.
- Slit openings for stair on north side
NORTH SIDE
- Three 2-light and one single light plate tracery type windows.
- At east end is lean-to vestry with arched doorway
CHANCEL
- Large 5-light east window of Decorated Style
- Similar small 2-light one on south side
SOUTH AISLE
- 3-light early Decorated style window to either side of the porch
- Trefoiled light towards the east end
PORCH
- Single storey gabled south porch
- 2 centred moulded arched doorway
- Diagonal buttress either side
Interior
CHANCEL
- Sedilia and piscina in south wall.
- Arch in north wall to vestry.
STONEWORK
- Internal walls lined with fine sandstone ashlar.
- 3-bay arcade is of similar stone
- 4-centred arches
- piers with moulded capitals.
- Wide similar chancel arch
- Pointed sandstone tower arch
ROOFS
- Arch-braced collar beam roof to nave
- Cusping to arches
- Angel corbels to principal rafters.
- Boarded roof to chancel
- Plain wagon roof to aisle
PORCH
- South doorway a pointed arch with nookshafts
FONT
- Octagonal, Caen stone
- Very fine fleuron carving to panels
- Stem consisting of clustered shafts
- Alternate ones of marble
PULPIT
- Caen stone
- 3 sided
- Tracery carved panels
MEMORIALS
- West wall of the nave
- Oval slate wall memorial to Jane Wollacombe
- Died in 1777.
- Other side of the tower arch are 2 more wall memorials
- One slate with nowy head dated 1668
- One marble and oval to William Spurway Gent who died 1715
Other information
GE Street was one of the most famous Victorian architects and this the only example of his work in Devon. It is a charmer, and well worth a visit.
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